George Ezra – Shotgun
Okay fine but I get the aux cord then…
[Video]
[4.50]
Katie Gill: Because when I think of the “Budapest” guy, I think of hot summer party jams? I appreciate George Ezra attempting to write a song that’s vaguely summery considering that our song of the summer prospects are pretty dire, but the word salad lyrics and chill sound come together to form a weirdly calm hot summer party jam. Still, if “Cheerleader” could be a serious song of the summer contender, then this might have legs.
[5]
Alfred Soto: This deep-voiced kidder hasn’t done much business Stateside, and unless he duets with Cee-Lo or Future Islands his dumb would-be soul tunes ain’t happening.
[3]
Stephen Eisermann: The British response to bro-country is George Ezra: songs about partying outdoors without the misogyny, basically. Sadly, that only makes this slightly less bad.
[3]
Matias Taylor: George Ezra’s not-so-secret weapon has always been is his gorgeous, striking lower register, the kind of sound that allows him to imbue vague wanderlust with an infectious carelessness that simultaneously registers as wizened gravitas. He’s still running away from home, but he’s realized there is untapped fun in letting someone else choose the destination. It doesn’t hurt that this barely tries to disguise its pop maximalism with indie rock trappings; he’s having too good a time with the wind in his hair to care (listen to the way he luxuriates in his drawl during the chorus: “hot-one”, “some-one”), and why should he with a hook this good.
[7]
Nicholas Donohoue: This was probably written on a dare to make a song about adventure and relaxation sound as unappealing as can be, but the stupendously ridiculous moments (u-UST to this, h-AW-t sun, sa-UMMMMM) also shows some level of tongue firmly in cheek, and what’s wrong with that?
[4]
Scott Mildenhall: After the subtle childlikeness of “Paradise,” a nursery rhyme that announces itself with a see you later/alligator rhyme. George Ezra is quite literally having a laugh. Take against his smarmy joviality if you wish, but on this showing it really doesn’t sound like he would care. Ultimately it plays to his advantage, because this wouldn’t come off without the self-satisfaction — it even overrides the ineffectiveness of the false ending — and if you are opposed, it plays to yours too: by the time this goes to number one on Friday he’ll have turned to chocolate and eaten himself.
[5]
the amount of direct eye contact this man makes in his music video combined with his weirdly deep voice has left me unnerved in a way I can’t quite place
Alex: yes there is definitely something weird about that video!
Scott is your last line a reference to The Chocolate Touch
Sadly no, don’t think I know that. It’s just a saying (“if he was made of chocolate, he’d eat himself”), which looking at Twitter might just be a British & Irish thing? Either way, it’s a very weird saying.
It’s a children’s book that’s just the King Midas myth except with chocolate. All well and good except for the cover in which the protagonist horrifyingly turns his mother into chocolate
haha I actually edited a book with that premise https://district158.learning.powerschool.com/jmalinger/malingerpublic14-15/cms_file/show/40510023.pdf?t=1400185949
Alex – this is the (quite expensive?) official lyric video – the official video of the song has less of him in it.
This is #1 in the UK now and English men’s soccer team are doing well – I may actually be in hell.
Andrew – I’ll take the lyrics video at this point if only because the official video implies he’s a flat earther